Nate visits Google HQ and and speaks about Here is Real Magic as part of their Talks at Google series.

Dec 18, 2018

Titles

Titles

Nate Staniforth

“Just caught a Nate Staniforth show,” one reporter tweeted after opening night of the last tour, “and now I have no idea what to believe about anything ever again.” No rabbits. No top hats. No smoke machines. Nate’s shows feel more like jumping out of an airplane than a night at a comedy club. He abandons the ubiquitous style-without-substance bravado so often associated with magic and appeals instead to the imagination and intellect of his audience. The journey is wild, visceral and immediate, and like all great art, encourages us to open our minds and hearts, and see the world in new ways.

“When you’re young, it’s easy to be amazed,” says Nate Staniforth. “As you get older, that experience of astonishment gets harder and harder to find. Good magic isn’t about deception. It’s about trying to see things the way you saw them before they became ordinary."

For over a decade, Nate has toured the US college circuit as one of the busiest working magicians in the country. He’s given a TEDx Talk, lectured at the world-famous Oxford Union, and in 2018 the Harry Potter-famed Bloomsbury Publishing released Nate’s debut memoir in bookstores worldwide. Here is Real Magic (an Amazon Best Book of January 2018) follows Nate's evolution from obsessed wunderkind to disillusioned wanderer, and tells the story of his rediscovery of astonishment—and the importance of wonder in everyday life—during a trip to the India, where he met a 3,000-year-old clan of street magicians.

Book

Book

Here is Real Magic

"This book is real magic. It performs the most wonderful trick: when you read it, you feel both entertained and hopeful.” —Chris Guillebeau, New York Times bestselling author of Side Hustle and The Happiness of Pursuit

“An assured and thoughtful work about finding true ‘awe and wonder.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A real gem; a great read that belongs on the shelf of creative inspiration right next to Art & Fear. As irresistible as his quest for magic is, it's Staniforth's urgent feeling for the craft, and the meaning behind it, that should make all artists—writers, actors, musicians, everyone—take note. He's exactly the travel companion you've always wanted.” —Glen David Gold, bestselling author of Carter Beats the Devil and Sunnyside

“Nate is one of my favorite magicians in the world. This is a beautiful, original book from a beautiful and original mind.” —Derren Brown

“A fascinating, expertly wrought and absorbing pursuit of the essence of wonder. Staniforth proves he is not only a magician by trade, but a tender writer with real talent.”—Signe Pike, author of Faery Tale

AN EXTRAORDINARY MEMOIR ABOUT FINDING WONDER IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Nate Staniforth has spent most of his life and all of his professional career trying to understand wonder—what it is, where to find it, and how to share it with others. He became a magician because he learned at a young age that magic tricks don’t have to be frivolous. Magic doesn’t have to be about sequins and smoke machines—rather, it can create a moment of genuine astonishment.

But after years on the road as a professional magician, crisscrossing the country and performing four or five nights a week, every week, Nate was disillusioned, burned out, and ready to quit. Instead, he went to India in search of magic. Here Is Real Magic follows Nate Staniforth’s evolution from an obsessed young magician to a broken wanderer and back again. It tells the story of his rediscovery of astonishment—and the importance of wonder in everyday life—during his trip to the slums of India, where he was welcomed by a three-thousand-year-old clan of street magicians. Here Is Real Magic is a call to all of us—to welcome awe back into our lives, to marvel in the everyday, and to seek magic all around us.